M-Farm
A unique application of geospatial technology utilised to advance farming in a developing economy
M-Farm has been created to help farmers sell their produce at a fair price, relying on actual data rather than word of mouth, which can be biased or not up to date. M-Farm analyses current as well as historical trends to determine wholesale commodity prices. This enables farmers to plan their sales according to real-time pricing and data-driven trends. Through the application, they are connected to other buyers and farmers, which facilitates the exchange of knowledge as well as direct selling. On average, farmers can double their sales by using the application compared to traditional methods, which is significant considering that Kenya’s economy relies predominantly on agriculture.
The mostly text-message based application makes use of geospatial data from the Famine Early Warning System dataset on agroclimatology, made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the US Geological Survey (USGS). M-Farm is a prime example of how public data, in this case, obtained through foreign institutes, can serve local communities, and benefit economies globally.
M-Farm is one of over 700 use cases published on the European Data Portal. If you come across an inspiring use case, please share it via mail, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.